Hunting

[faramir_hurin]

Dated to Wednesday, 3 January 2007.

Content warning: Contains extreme violence and disturbing imagery, read with caution. Violence to a lesser extent in second top-level comment.At long last I am going to the other side of the island. I've planned to go for some time but never have. It should be pleasant after the recent snow and I shall go round

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[andrejkoscuisko]

Andrej stopped and thought a moment. He had broken Faramir's feet with the driver. He had broken Faramir's chest with the driver. He had ruined his knees with his knife - not one of his (Joslire's) five-knives. Never that. He could never dishonor the steel that way. But the knife from the kitchen had been most effective. He had tipped ash into the man's eyes, but not too much; damage to the head was too likely to be prematurely fatal. The work had been incredibly satisfying and Andrej again wondered why he hadn't done this sooner

[faramir_hurin]

It's time? I'm confused. I do not remember peace and I have no gods. Eru? The Valar? Can they find me here? Please...

My neck… but there is no more pain. No pain anywhere.

The Horn of Gondor sounds clearly: it is close. Someone is coming after all. I knew they wouldn’t just leave me. Ever louder, ever closer, and someone moves silently through the trees to stand in the shadow.

My eyes are ruined but I can see him as clearly as I ever did. He came after all even though it’s too late. It does not matter because now I won’t have to die alone.

Thank you.

XxX

Faramir's head was tilted slightly to the side and his eyes were open, slightly glassy. He was gone.

[andrejkoscuisko]

Andrej was unsure of the best way to dispose of the body. He no longer had time to bury it and move the fire over to cover the blood. And there was a lot of blood. Andrej was prepared with fresh clothing but he had forgotten how it got under his nails. He would have to bathe in the freezing ocean before he re-dressed. At least the rubber boots had kept his feet clean.

The ground was soft, mostly sand. It was still his best chance; it would take far too long to carry the body into dinosaur territory. Andrej was about to dig when he saw distant movement. An animal?

[the_real_ray]

"You being a better skater than me has nothing to do with my manhood," said Ray, resisting the temptation to shove a handful of snow in Stanley's collar as they walked with Dief out in the woods. "It's skating for God's sake. Little girls do it."

"Exactly my point," Ray countered, a smirk fixed on his face. "Little girls can skate, but you cannot." He pointed a finger at Vecchio, mouth opened to continue, when Dief suddenly padded ahead, smelling the ground like the most tasty squirrel-- no, like the most tasty donut was around and he was ready steady to go catch himself a snack. And then the wolf was barking his damn head off and running into the trees. "...Huh."

"Little girls can also braid their Barbies' hair, but my masculinity is not threatened by--"

No, this wasn't just Dief running after a squirrel or a bird or a Sasquatch. Ray had known Fraser long enough -- and by extension had known Diefenbaker long enough -- to know that the best way to react to this was to draw his gun and follow

[the_cop]

Ray had been a cop for a long time but he had never seen anything like what was in front of him. There was so much blood, and the body...Jesus.

He tore his eyes away from the tree and pointed his gun at, shit, what was the guy's name? Andrew or something. Ray remembered him, creepy fuck.

"Get your fuckin' hands in the air. Now," he said, raising his voice over Dief's growls and barking.

[dishabille_mal]

"Oh, monologuing," Maladicta said. "That makes a lot of sense. Ahah, yes. Vampires are prone to that, aren't they? Well, the sporting ones. Back home, it's a bit less cut and-" She stopped, looking off the path they were traversing, deeper into the woods

[scooby_leader]

It was almost foreign. Buffy was laughing. Maladictia was, herself, a vasmpire, if she understood, and to hear one go on about the others was... refreshing wasn't the right word, but it was close. And this woman was strong, smart, and daylight-friendly. What a combination

[andrejkoscuisko]

So he was discovered. So what? He was an Inquisitor, not liable for any offense less than treason against the Bench.

"But you are not in Jurisdiction Space," the voice in his head reminded him. "They will kill you."Yes, he would die. Looking up, he saw four people. Two women, and the dark haired one spoke but he did not understand what she said. Was it Miss Blake? Yes, it must be. "Anita ..." he began, then stopped. What could he say

[the_real_ray]

"Oh Jesus Christ," Ray said again and, making sure the others still all had their weapons drawn, put his away and moved forward to cautiously make sure the guy had really just offed himself. But then he was bleeding everywhere and on fire and that right there was a pretty good indication that he wasn't going to make it.

Ray might not exactly have been a model of bravery, but he had an example to set, so after a moment of waiting to see if the body was going to so much as twitch and turn that knife on him, he pulled it from the fire and, after dousing the flames with snow, checked for a pulse.

He didn't even have to say anything, just looked up at Kowalski and shook his head.

[the_cop]

Though Ray had been poised to shoot Andrew-what's-his-name in the head if he so much as moved he was not surprised when Vecchio confirmed the guy was dead.

"This is fucked up," he told Vecchio, pointing out the obvious.

He glanced at the tree that still held...Jesus, okay, it was Faramir, to Maladicta and Buffy. Fuck, this was just...fucked. Ray holstered his gun and wiped his palms against his pantlegs. He wished he'd been on patrol so Horatio would be here. Not that he wanted the other man to see this, but they were partners. He wanted Horatio to help him take care of this.

"C'mon," Ray said quietly and offered Vecchio a hand up.

[dishabille_mal]

Maladicta watched the doctor commit suicide with a tense, cold expression. Her eyes barely widened when he fell forward.

Well, that was bizarre. She didn't swallow and didn't shake, but she did drop her hand from its resting place at her hip and carefully positioned herself between Buffy and Faramir, first facing the deceased captain, mind racing, noneof it showing, then turning, almost warily, to face Buffy. The men could apparently handle themselves, but the blond girl looked about to snap.

[scooby_leader]

It wasn't that she'd never seen anything like it. Willow had stripped Warren of his flesh in a very similar way just shortly before she'd wound up on that island, it was just that... it has never been someone she cared about. Not like that.

She kept her gun on Andrej through the entire trip to Crazytown, so confused as he stumbled closer and closer to the fire because she didn't want to stop it. She didn't want him to be OK.

Ray checked the pulse and nodded to... the other Ray, and Buffy immediately tucked the gun back into her pants. She had shut off, and it was apparent in the way she stood ramrod straight and looked only straight ahead.

"His name is Faramir Hurin," she intoned, absolutely devoid of any semblance of human emotion.

[the_real_ray]

Ray accepted the hand up, for once without comment, and looked down at his jacket and pants, now stained with ash and blood. He hardly even saw this sorta thing back in Chicago, let alone here on Happy Happy Joy Joy Island.

"All right," he said, probably louder than he needed to be. The blonde one, Buffy, she looked like she needed something to do that wasn't stare at the body of her friend. "Let's do this one by the book. You two, go back to the compound. We're gonna need someone to examine these bodies, a doctor. And get one of the people from the lab up here, too. Maybe they can tell us what the fuck just happened here."

He looked back over at Kowalski and grimaced as he thought about what else they'd need to do.

[the_cop]

"Fuck, and tell somebody from the Council before they hear it from third-hand gossip. Vimes too, try to find him, or get somebody to find him," Ray added, avoiding Vecchio's and anybody elses gaze. He had never been good around bodies, certainly not bloody flayed bodies, and he kinda felt nauseous.

Bodies, fuck. Clearing his throat once, Ray finally looked over at the girls. "And we'll need sleds, blankets...gloves...to transport 'em. You don't gotta come back if you don't want to," he added, this last part to Buffy.

When he got a chance he knelt By Dief, a hand heavy on his head, and told the half-wolf to go get Horatio. "Good boy," Ray murmured before returning to Vecchio's side to wait.

[dishabille_mal]

Maladicta looked, in a word, dispassionate. If you wanted another word, you could have used 'uneffected', as well.

"I'll find Vimes," she said, "and a member of the council that isn't IPD as well. Buffy," she said, looking at the other woman, "Squints?"

She nodded, rather than saluted, to Ray and Ray, then nodded to Buffy as well and turned and headed off at a good speed through the snow for the compound.

She did not sprint. It was a careful decision on her part.

[scooby_leader]

Buffy back- thought it may have previously looked like it simply was not possible- went even straighter at the mere thought that she couldn't handle what was going on. She'd stabbed her true love and sent him to hell! She'd killed herself for her sister! She'd... done other really hard things! She could take her ex's brutal skinning alive and... other really hard things... Yeah.

"I'll come back when with the supplies, after I talk to the scientists," she insisted pointedly, her voice very cold and clipped. It was a shame Rays both V and K hadn't interracted with her outside of tragedies within the IPD. She really was a delightful little Slayergirl. "Maybe we should leave the scene where it is until after the squints check it out." See? She was cool. Fine.

Until she was alone, she was sure.